At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. -Tryst with destiny speech of Nehru's on 14th Aug,1947.
The Independence which India got after a decade age of colonization was unfortunately paid by a huge price of partition. The British were always frightened about how the nation would sustain as a nation due to its huge diversity and plurality with around 524 million people then and the 15 major languages. Before the Rule, India was more of a region than a whole nation. It was divided into many Emperors from Mughals to Marathas. Then the British ruled till 1947, but while leaving the nation they played here too. It was not the Spirit of Independence more, but it was the fear of partition that made the fellow citizens grieve. The leaving of their age-old neighbors which were not more than relatives but just separated by religious beliefs and the communal tension which created between them made the Indians think that the British rule was good than this situation.
The main cause of the Partition is being given to Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the British and also to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Nehru, but it was the situation and the predictions of the British that made the scene turn into reality. Though Jinnah during his early stages was not pro-partition and he was not also a fully-Islam believer (due to his love towards whiskey and ham sandwich it can be known). But due to the Ignorance by the fellow congress members including Nehru-Gandhi duo made him be to think of a new nation with the Islamic majority as he thought that Congress was more inclined towards the Hindus and the Muslims we are persecuted as they were a minority and won't be treated as equals.
It was also the First violence of Partition on 16 August 1946 where people of Muslim league orchestrated the riots and later it came towards Punjab and other neighboring united provinces. This was the major concern for Mahatma Gandhi as he was deeply hurt when the Partition plan was announced. He also told the followers during prayer assembly that people are dying and you wish to hold a celebration in the midst of this devastation? he also kept a fast during the day of Independence 15th august 1947 as there were continuous rioting amongst all the three religions-Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs. The date for Transfer of Power was around the 3 June 1948, but as the Radcliff line was drawn and the period of partition and the transfer of power would have to be controlled by British, they transferred a year earlier. The PArtition witnessed around 20,00,000 people and many were misplaced, raped, abducted. This was the most drastic period in the history of India. During the partition here is one of the many real-life stories of the survivors of the massacre and mass migration of the people from the two sides of the border.
Mazhar Malik was born in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, that time it used to be a state not a union territory. They were Punjabi Muslims but were in Jammu as his dad was a civil servant. his area was a Muslim majority but the northern part was as a headquarter of RSS a Hindu dominant. There were many communal riots during his school days. By May, Punjab was filled with riots and slowly it spread to the starting of Jammu and as it started in Jammu, he moved towards Srinagar with his mother to aunt's place. Srinagar was peaceful though. There was a huge confusion that the State had a majority of Muslims but the Ruler was a Hindu. It was in October when the Kashmir joined with India. Before then, on around September Mazhar and his parents along with two Muslim families left for a temporary stay in Pakistan. But on the last moment his father as his duty of civil servant he felt to stay in Jammu as he had not applied for leave and he assured his family that he would return soon as he gets to leave.
They left for Muzzafarabad, Pakistan and his Father reported on his duty on 5th October. His mother contacted his Father's brother and then they went with him. Then around at the beginning of the November they arrived a relative from Punjab, India. They told the shocking news that his father had departed from Jammu in a true along with 1,500 Muslims but in their way they saw the mob with swords and daggers rushing and killing the most of them. People ran; mothers begged for mercy; some saved others by bringing them to their knees;and during that some ran away. But unfortunately, Malik Sahab could not and he was killed in it. This was one of the many stories that his relatives say, another was that during daylight his father was being cut down as per the self-proclaimed witnesses.
He in his life was always on the road to find his father, even when he visited Jammu in the year of 1979, he visited his Hindu friends but always was searching for the place his father was killed -Moni Mohsin, stories from The Guardian.
The partition was the greatest loss to both the parted nations of India and Pakistan, it was not just a partition of a piece of land. It was parting of two different but the same human beings, which stayed together for many generations and were not being parted then but now due to the political differences and religious beliefs. The two best friends who played together in childhood, were now in two different nations and unlike childhood now they won't be able to play or even meet with each other. The Family which had connections-of food, as in Indian society whenever there is a special dish made in their family they share with neighbors it also creates a bonding of love between them which is now guarded by barbed wire. The Silent lovers- who used to meet at their terrace quietly, but now there could not be even a sight of both of them and it was just a dream to even watch the face of their counterpart. It was just an end to their love story, and along with it shattered their together future which they planned together. The Housewives who used to assemble during the afternoon and also shared their evening tea with gossips, now just sits at home grieving for their loss. The once head-of a village was there counting his last breath while lying on a road between Pakistan and India with his slit throat and amputated arm.
On one side we celebrate Independence day but on the other side we grieve for the loss of our closed ones. One cannot accuse anyone of the partition but as it was the fate that led the sorrows of the loneliness from them. Both the sides of border still now want to live in peace and once again want to be together irrespective of their religion and nationality. Still there is a belief that even after many years of the partition they want to go to their home, for many it was just a temporary but the ongoing situations made them permanent.
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